Summer Research Training Program in Heart, Lung and Vascular Biology

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This T-35 application is designed to support medical students involved in a Summer Research and Training Program (SRTP) in Heart, Lung, and Vascular Biology. The primary objective of this program is to provide a meaningful research experience in these areas to students early in their academic career. To achieve this, the program has the following aims: 1) provide students with an idea of what is involved in a career in biomedical research; 2) give participants a comprehensive and current understanding of Heart, Lung, and Vascular Biology; 3) provide an atmosphere that encourages and facilitates student interaction with a diverse group of established investigators and clinicians in these fields; and 4) provide the student with the opportunity to conduct mentor-guided research in order to gain a comprehensive and current understanding of Cardiovascular and Lung Biology and their unsolved research problems. This Program will take advantage of the unique strength of The Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute. The SRTP faculty is composed of 35 investigators carefully selected for both their research interest and their desire to mentor and provide research opportunities to medical students. Through electronic, personal networks, and printed announcements, all US medical students will be informed mid-way through their first year about the SRTP. Students from Vanderbilt and other medical schools are selected to participate in a 12 week research experience at Vanderbilt. Our goal is to have -60% of the participants from Vanderbilt and ~40% from other US medical schools. A monthly student stipend is provided. The program utilizes the traditional preceptor/role model approach. Each student is matched with an established investigator with whom he/she designs and executes a research project. Student participants meet on a regular basis for a lecture series on current challenges in heart, lung and vascular biology research, to interact with senior scientists, and for social events. At the conclusion of the summer research experience, each participant presents a summary of his/her research in a traditional scientific meeting format. Mechanisms to assess the program, student satisfaction, faculty satisfaction, and career choices of the participants are in place. These outcome studies will assess the program's impact on student attitudes toward biomedical research and encouraging students to choose careers involving biomedical research, specifically in the area of Lung and Cardiovascular Biology.